Siwon promptly closed and locked the front door once they both entered the wooden cabin. Not wasting any time, he quickly ran to the little cabin’s back door and did the same thing. Siwon was slightly out of breath; partly because the running they did, but mostly because of the wave of panic that washed over him.

“Choi Siwon, what was that all about?” Yuri asked almost breathlessly, sounding confused.  She was used to running thanks to her soccer activities, but now that she’s carrying a baby, a little run had not fail to make her out of breath. Yuri instinctually put a hand on her belly, trying to calm herself down.

“A-are you alright?” Siwon asked as his eyes widened with worry.

“I am –but seriously, what the hell was that about?”  

Siwon took a sweated glance to the front window and great heaving breaths before finally answered the girl, “There were two suspicious-looking men who were following us since we left the restaurant. I don’t know who they’re but I think they’re you father’s men--“

Siwon stopped explaining as soon as he saw Yuri stifled a relieved laugh. She acted like his ominous explanation was the most relieving thing she ever heard.

“The two men wearing all black? Yeah, you’re right. They’re my father’s people,” said Yuri.

She was amused by how unintentionally hilarious Siwon’s panic and dumbfounded expressions were. “They’ve been following us since we left the hospital,” she calmly added. She had not thought that he would freak out and made them run for their lives because there were two men following them. Such thing was not anything out of ordinary for her.

“What?! How did you know-- Why didn’t you tell me? Yah! Kwon Yuri! How could you not tell me about this? Are they going to take you away? They’re trying to kidnap you, aren’t they? What if they’re going to hurt you?” Siwon rambled exasperatedly, annoyed by how relaxed Yuri was.

His worry had turned into anger.

“Wait, did you say they’ve been following us from the hospital? Do you mean they know we’re staying here? Yuri, how could you not--”

“I said, they’re my father’s people,” repeated Yuri, raising her voice to match his, “Do you think my own father would try to hurt me? Don’t worry, Choi Siwon, unlike what most people think, my father is not some kind of mafia. He won’t hurt me, he won’t hurt you either… so, please, calm down. My father is not a bad guy.”

Siwon stood still as he tried to process her explanation. There were something about the two men that made him anxious, and the fact that they were Kwon Junghyuk’s men made him feel more uncomfortable with more plausible worries.

“He tried to make you abort our baby,” Siwon hissed.

Yuri didn’t know for sure where her rage was coming from. She might have a lot of disagreement with her own father, but it always hurt her when people talk about him as if he was some kind of super villain. “Does that make him a bad guy? Do you scared of him? Then what about you? You made your girlfriend abort her baby, didn’t you?” Yuri snarled.

Siwon’s face drained of color. He didn’t expect her to put it that way.

The look on his face was an enough sign that she had crossed the line with her last remark. “I-I am sorry… I didn’t mean to…” Yuri quietly apologized.

It felt like the longest time until Siwon broke from his frozen state.

He staggered forward and plopped to the sofa. Siwon swallowed before finally broke the silence.

“I’m just… I’m just scared that they’ll take you and our baby away from me.”

Siwon wanted to say much more, to say sorry for making her upset. He had no idea that it was such a big deal for her. It would be useless to deny that he had implied how her father is a bad guy. He remembered how he used to diss her ill-famed family whenever they had confrontations – way back before they were lumped into these bigger mess together. This was his biggest flaw; he could never apologize when he really, really needs to. Just like how he never apologized to the pitiful Tiffany even though he knew he was being mean to her.

‘The messed-up Kwons’, Siwon would say back then. Ever since he moved back to the town, he figured that the Kwon was quite respected for what the wealthy Kwon Junghyuk has done for the town; but above all, the man was highly feared and his family was mostly known for their scandals. The youngest from Kwon family, Yuri, was pretty much the only Kwon whom private life was free from juicy scandal. The Kwon’s untainted, precious pearl. Well, not anymore, thanks to Choi Siwon.

Siwon was still avoiding her gaze when she quietly sat next to him on the other end of the sofa.

“I just don’t want us to be apart, Yuri,” he whispered, his eyes soften as he finally looked at her in the eyes.  

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you… those men… they are usually just assigned to follow me around, that’s all.”

Siwon raised his eyebrows, “So they’re like your bodyguards?” he softly asked.

“No, not really. They’re only following me around whenever I run away from home… but they are completely at making it stealthy,” snorted Yuri.

“Oh, you do look like the type who often runs away from home…”

“Yaaah,” Yuri weakly protested, “That’s the only way to argue with my father!”

“But that doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy,” she quickly added. “Appa tends to be really stubborn so I have to do something bold to make him listen to me,” Yuri muttered.

Siwon let out a small laugh upon her explanation.

“What?”

He slowly shook his head, “People say that stubborn people usually don’t realize how stubborn they are.”

“I know, right,” Yuri nodded lightly, oblivious that Siwon was implying about how she’s such a stubborn soul herself.

Half smiling, Siwon fixed his eyes on the girl next to him. The more he learned about her, the more he found her… appealing. She’s still the same stubborn, quite immature girl who used to annoy him to no end. She’s also that one delectable girl who never failed to arouse his desire. Most importantly, she’s a part of his responsibility, the one he should cherish and protect now that she’s carrying his unborn child. All of sudden, Siwon wasn’t sure what he exactly feels about Yuri. The trace of hatred, the lust, and the duty had turn into an unexplainable mixture of feelings.

As his smile faded, Siwon cautiously asked, “Yuri-yah, they won’t do you any harm, right? I mean, are you sure they aren’t planning anything unusual?”

Yuri paused, the worst possibilities flashed in her mind. Yuri knew that, by now, her father was most likely planning something for her. Only, she didn’t know what his plan was. She could only hope for the best.

“I don’t think so,” she shook her head; “You really don’t have to worry about them.”

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Kwon Yunho didn’t expect his father to come pick him u